Feminism in Shakespear's Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream - Essay Example

Introduction In Shakespeares Women Lewis claims, "I believe that Shakespeare, because of his extraordinary genius for portraying human behavior, necessarily depicted the condition of women within a patriarchal system and created women characters which in their richness, transcend the limitations of his time” (Lewis) The Medieval - Renaissance perspective defined women as seducers and responsible for mans sin. This was the social as well as the religious belief prevalent in the time of Shakespeare. In such an environment when females were kept under an authoritarian leash, Shakespeare openly created female characters to transcend socially permitted female behaviors of the time and exposed female characters and their manipulations and power games they tried to play. All the heroines of his plays all have a deep trace of rebellion and some feminist views opposing male dominance and control. Seen from a feminist perspective Lady Macbeth was a strong-willed, intelligent woman, who was driven to consorting with devils because the male demons of her own culture prevent her from doing what men assumed by right. Her wish to shed her sexual identity, as seen through the “unsex me here” line, reinforces desire for power and control in a male dominated world. Similarly Hermia can be seen as a female who despite the penalty of death on disobedience rebels against the control of her father and the King so that she can choose her own life partner. Themes Macbeth: Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy where both the villains Macbeth and his Lady are also the tragic heroes of the play.  A tragic hero is a character that the audience sympathizes with despite his/her actions that would indicate the contrary.  Macbeth, in spite of his horrible murders, is a pitiable man.  He suffered because he could not enjoy his royal status as fear, paranoia and sleeplessness plagued him. Similarly Lady Macbeth is also a tragic hero.  Her early ambition and daring did not last long, and she soon deteriorates into a delusional, hapless somnambulist.  She breaks down due to the strain of the crime.  Macbeth and his wife are pitiable characters because the audience is able to follow their every thought and action and can see the how their greed is followed by guilt and remorse.  A Midsummer Nights Dream: A Midsummer Nights Dream is a comedy in which Shakespeare shows many different kinds of love and marriage with the underlying theme of male dominance and their women’s rebellion against this control. Helena and Hermia flee into the woods on midsummer’s night where they do not fall under the laws of Theseus or Egeus There is the mature love of Theseus and Hippolyta; the passionate and unstable love of the two young couples. The play highlights the power struggle between Oberon and Titania for the young boy and between Hermia and her father regarding her marriage. Feminism Feminism is the belief that women should have equal political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights to men. the history of feminism can be divided into three waves. (Humm 1990) The first wave of feminism started in 1848. Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a crucial role in the 19th century womens rights movement to introduce womens suffrage into the United States. Susan Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association along with her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton. They also published The Revolution 1868-70 which focused on women’s rights and how they should be given equal economic and political status as American citizens with the right to vote being the most prominent issue. She is also known as the "The Napoleon of the womans rights movement" After the vote was finally won in 1920, the organized Womens Rights Movement continued on in several directions. The second wave of feminism started in the 1960’s Womens Rights Movement worked together and separately on a wide range of issues. Women’s newspapers, bookstores and cafes were established. Battered womens shelters and rape crisis hotlines to care for victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence were also set up for the first time. Issues of women getting equal pay and job opportunities were the most prominent issue of the second wave. Today’s feminist issues are not straightforward as in the past .Should businesses accommodate a womens family responsibilities? Should they be treated under affirmative action? Would not that negate gender equality? Sexual harassment is also a burning issue. Just where does flirting leave off and harassment begin? (Eisenberg & Ruthsdotter 1998) Women were Subservient to Men The women portrayed by Shakespeare are always the minority and bear heavy symbolic burdens. They are necessary to the melodrama only by virtue of their childbearing qualities. “Marriage is seen as the ultimate social achievement for women while men can go on to do many other great things and gain societal recognition.” (Howard 2003) In ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ we find many references to the assigned roles of men and women. One of the themes of the play is male dominance and the objectifying of women. The women are made to feel forced and obligated to do as the men say. For example when Hermia refuses to marry the suitor of his choosing her father says "As she is mine, I may dispose of her: Which shall be either to this gentleman or to her death, according to our law" (1.1. 42-44) Thus A womans entire existence, and her preference in her sexual and emotional life, is controlled by a powerful male figure. Oberon, the king of fairies, also expects women to obey men. The quarrel between Titania and Oberon is caused by an Indian boy raised by her. Oberon orders Titania to give up the boy, and he is shocked when she disobeys him and leaves. “There is not the woman born who desires to eat the bread of dependence, no matter whether it be from the hand of father, husband, or brother; for any one who does so eat her bread places herself in the power of the person from whom she takes it.” This is a very famous quote of Susan Anthony; she would have definitely seen all of Hermia’s problems as arising from dependence on a male. Powerful Women were portrayed as evil “Women are denied the right to create their own image of femaleness, and instead must seek to conform to the patriarchal standards imposed on them...the ideal woman is seen as a passive docile and above all selfless creature...But behind the angel lurks the monster: the obverse of the male idealization of women is the male fear of femininity. The monster women is the woman who refuses to be selfless, acts on her own initiative, who has a story to tell--in short, a woman who rejects the submissive role patriarchy has reserved for her.” (Moi 1984) Lady Macbeth wants to be unsexed and her womanly characteristics taken away so that she can perform the duties that traditionally are assigned to men. Shakespearean society cannot even conceive a woman who can be both intelligent and powerful while still retaining her female characteristics of goodliness and kindliness. Consider this famous speech of Lady Macbeths.  “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex…” Lady Macbeth is willing, to lose her femininity in favor of political power. The imagery she invokes in order to make this point clear: “I have given suck… dashed the brains out…” (1.7.54-58) this suggests that while Macbeth and his male friends have, committed all manner homicide, genocide in an honorable manner on the battle fields, Lady Macbeth’s matricide paints her as the most evil of all. Conclusion In Shakespeares plays women are portrayed as strong, attractive and intelligent. They not only have a clear sense of themselves as individuals, but they challenge accepted patterns for womens behavior. The expected norms for women in those times were compliance and self-sacrifice for a male, yet independence and defiance characterize these women. But despite this rich characterization Shakespeare does not always portray women positively. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is a murderess and dies of guilt and remorse for her evil deeds, Helena longs for her friends fiancé and only the intervention of Fairy King Oberon resolves matters happily in ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream’ Yet as in the case of Lady Macbeth’s desire to be unsexed or Hermia’s rebellion against her father, feminism has been motivated by a desire for equality.  Women wanted to be considered just as capable of men as doing every job they did. The issue of male dominance or power and control over women is still relevant centuries later. Even today in this great age of learning and liberation there are thousands of women who are abused and mistreated by fathers, husbands and boyfriends. Women’s liberation has not ended rape, sexism or the physical and mental abuse in an advanced society like ours Take for instance the story of abuse between two young pop sensations Rihanna and Chris Brown. Both stars cancelled their appearances at the 2009 Grammy Awards among reports of domestic violence. It is now evident that this was not the first time Rihanna suffered physical abuse at the hands of Chris Brown. Rihanna is a celebrity and earning millions yet despite her fame and financial independence she was victimized by Brown and suffered for along time in silence before telling the world of her misery. Clearly as in the times of Shakespeare, women are still the weaker sex abused with impunity by her male relations and mankind in general. Reference: 1. Lewis, Liz “Shakespeare’s Women.” November 2001. < http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/shakespeare_women.html 2. Eisenberg, Bonnie and Ruthsdotter, Mary. Living the Legacy: The Womens Rights Movement 1848 – 1998 National Womens History Project. 1998 < http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html 3. Humm, Maggie. The dictionary of feminist theory. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1990, pp. 278 4. Howard Jean E. "Feminist Criticism." Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide. Eds. Stanley Wells and Lena Cowen Orlin, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 5. Moi, Toril. Sexual, Textual Politics: Feminist Literary Theory: New York: Routledge, 1984, pp. 57-58: Read More